To set the stage: My husband, years ago, discovered StarLite Cuisine’s vegan Taquitos and fell in love. Sadly, despite years of hunting, he’s only been able to find them at grocery stores on the East Coast and in Canada (he travels a lot for work). But to his great pleasure, after weeks of correspondence with StarLite and Green Acres Market, he’s finally got a local source.

StarLite is thrilled to have a new outlet for their yummy snacks, and sent us a thank you package to spread the word. And we’d love for folks to head to Green Acres to buy StarLite products so Green Acres will keep listening to our requests! (We’re hoping to get Chicago Soy Dairy’s delicious vegan marshmallows next.) To that end, we’d love to give a Vegan KC follower a package that includes a bunch of StarLite coupons, a t-shirt, and a super nice, insulated grocery tote that has a zipper closure. The package goes to the first person to comment on this post, or reply about the giveaway on Twitter!

Czar Bar, at 1531 Grand, has had some identity issues during the several years it’s been on the scene, but it was announced today that the owners of The Riot Room (formerly the Hurricane), are taking over operations and looking to revamp. They told the Kansas City Star today that their new menu, currently under development, will feature vegan and vegetarian options.

Here’s hoping that this is the beginning of a successful new identity for this great spot, and that they’ll keep to their vow to include vegan options on the menu.

I’ve been waiting for this news for months! Dog Nuvo, the fancy hot dog joint now living in the former Souperman space at 1724 Main, finally announces that they’ll have veggie dogs. We’ll see if their house-made veggie dogs end up being vegan, but for the time being they’ll be carrying vegan Smart Dogs. Eat up, and let them know that they’d be making a smart decision to keep carrying a vegan option.

Waldo Pizza treats people right. Here are some high-quality iPhone photos of their separate vegan menu, giving us the dirt on all the possibilities.

You probably already know that they’ve had vegan cheese for awhile (in addition to a non-vegan soy mozzarella for the merely lactose intolerate) – but now they have both Daiya and Follow Your Heart options. I recommend the FYH for the pizza – and make sure they let it spend more time in the oven so it gets good and melty and caramelized around the edges. The Daiya is great as a sub for dairy on their garlic cheese bread.

And while only the cappuccino cupcake is listed on the menu, there have been other vegan cupcakes on past visits.

Special bonus: if you’re order the vegan/gluten-free crust, you can get it in a 6” pizza, whereas the regular menu’s smallest size is a 10” – leaving you plenty of room for a trip to the salad bar and a vegan cupcake as a chaser.

Pitch food writer and charming local radio personality (probably best known for his wrangling of the Food Critics on KCUR’S Walt Bodine show), Charles Ferruzza is looking out for us – wondering about the hidden lard and stocks in dishes that might otherwise seem vegan or vegetarian. He also wrote a great review of Füd last year. I hope he keeps it up!